Day five of a five-day back to basics newsagency management challenge: marketing

This week I am shining a light on five back to basics areas of our newsagency businesses over which we can make a difference for the good of our business and the benefit of our customers.

By back to basics I mean parts of our business that define us and can separate us from others.

Today, I want to challenge how you market your business.

Marketing to me is promoting your business outside your four walls in pursuit of attracting new traffic. Marketing is essential to the financial health of any retail business. Get it right and you make more money. Get it wrong and you have a cost with no upside. Do nothing and you could see your traffic decline and at some point wonder why.

Businesses we compete with, such as supermarkets, national stationery outlets as well as gift shops all have marketing benchmark budgets. Newsagents have not had this but it is time we did. In my view, a newsagency marketing spend benchmark should be that we spend at least 1% of our retail turnover (including agency product commission) – as a minimum marketing benchmark.

Many of our competitors would have a 2% of turnover marketing budget, some even more.

So, how much do you spend marketing your newsagency? If it is less than 1% of turnover then it is not enough.

Depending on where you get your marketing advice you could also tap into free marketing opportunities such as social media like Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Instagram and Pinterest. Then there is your vehicles, your shop window, flyers put in local letterboxes … many activities where the $$$ spend can be low and balanced by a labour investment.

Marketing is a simple equation. Spend more and get more. Spend less and get less. Do nothing and you fall behind.

Whereas in the past newsagents could rely on some products to generate traffic, today’s landscape requires our active engagement in marketing.

So, how much do you spend marketing your newsagency? If it is less than 1% of turnover then it is not enough.

The goal of this series of back to basics newsagency management advice is to get you revisiting parts of your business that you may not be paying enough attention to. This should help imporrove basket size, drive traffic and get you better engaged with your newsagency business.

If your business declining this is more likely to be through your action/inaction than any external factor. Own it, crash through the issues and plans for and build a stronger business. It can be done.